Chapter 10: Year 300, Days 7 and 8

[BackworldTraveller]

Pranit spins, sees that there is no-one in sight downrange of the gunman and fires his shotgun (one Handed, no Aiming, Short Range): The gunman has clearly seen too many holos and dives to the ground for a sliding shot from the polished floor. Both shots go wide - Pranit's nearly hitting the dodging gunman, the gunman's going somewhere overhead.

---

Nālani heads down the stairs after Hebden...

...Hebden sees Noor calling and starts angling towards her as he descends the staircase.

---

Noor watches Hebden descending the stairs, with Nālani behind and behind both a small, very hard to see, something - flying (wobbling) at about 3m over their heads and only visible as it eclipses the emergency lights.

---

Raven continues trying to get a comms channel; Indrani reads Zid's message and watches as Maggie observes the surrounding space and Assana tangles (badly) with the computer glitches on a line that makes her efforts just to late.

[ateno]

Prqnit turns and binds down the stairs, placing his feet carefully. Holding the shotgun in a up position. Then stops turns sideways and scans the upper floor and head of staircase.

[BackworldTraveller]

Pranit heads down the stairs, nervous that someone will follow but not seeing anyone (stll standing) at all. The character that went backwards down the stairs earlier is groaning as Pranit gets that far, but doesn't appear to be attempting anything heroic.

Hebden and then Nālani join Noor and Thaco at the entrance to the car park.

A woman, maybe 40 years old, holding a case shouts from behind Well don't just stand there.

Several vehicles can be heard starting up as fleeing customers have reached them and are planning on getting away.

The woman presses a button on the box, and all the cars die. A few moments later, there is a clatter from outside the entrance as a drone smashes to the floor.

Now come on and she indicates a delivery van parked near the exit.

Image of Hebden's Companion

[ateno]

Pranit turns and runs for his friends, taking his shotgun down from ready position.

[BackworldTraveller]

Pranit turns and runs for his friends, taking his shotgun down from ready position.

The woman observes this, shouts Behind You and draws what looks like a (highly illegal) SMG!

Hebden, however, steps in the way and replies Friendly and then murmurs Well friendly-ish!

[ateno]

Praint heads to and gets in the delivery van.

He will look at the inside walls.

"How's your wound? Le me see it. I missed the F---er that shout you."

Pranit

[Monsieur Rose]

Noor

She looks at the newcomer and back to the others and shrugs. "Good enough. Let's go."

Noor gets in the back and barks some orders. "She drives, Hedben in back with everyone else. We can talk and figure out where to next. Someone can look through the glass to the front to make sure we're going where we say."

She offers a hand to the newcomer. "I'm Noor. Thanks for the help. No offense meant, but I've had more assassination attempts in the last month than is prudent. Trust is earned."

"First thing is communicating with the Queen. Does anyone have ideas? I'm assuming that my phones are burned. In fact, I could try to use one to divert some attention. What do you think?"

[BackworldTraveller]

The woman seems impressed by Noor's natural air of command and

As it's my van, there's just one rule...Weapons go in the box under the jump-seat. Hebden's also had that problem, and I'm persona non grata.

And we can talk once we have a secure means of doing so. I've trashed my electronics getting Hebden this far - so shall we get moving?

Hebden opens said box...His friend climbs in to drive.

The van is an up-market model. This isn't (despite the external appearance) a miner's runabout. This is an upmarket nomad's residence. Close inspection reveals that it is a good fit for a 5 dton cargo module, including tie-downs and everything. The vehicle's ability to work on an Asteroid means it's an unusual build.

[The Bindoner]

The woman seems impressed by Noor's natural air of command and

As it's my van, there's just one rule...Weapons go in the box under the jump-seat. Hebden's also had that problem, and I'm persona non grata.

And we can talk once we have a secure means of doing so. I've trashed my electronics getting Hebden this far - so shall we get moving?

Hebden opens said box...His friend climbs in to drive.

Nālani looks at the woman and displays her weapon:

It is only a Stunner, and I promise not to shoot you with it. Shooting the pilot is something I am firmly opposed to.


If there is no other option, she will, reluctantly, surrender the Stunner, but with bad grace.

Pranit heads to and gets in the delivery van.

He will look at the inside walls.

"How's your wound? Le me see it. I missed the F---er that shout you."

I do not think it is serious, but I would be grateful if you would patch it, stop the blood ruining any more than it has to.

She carefully eases out of the costume cape and allows Pranit to inspect where the bullet grazed her.

I think it is good you missed. The police here do not like gunfights, and we were the shot at, not the shooters.

Flinching under Pranits ministrations:
How much blood is on the dress? It was expensive. Perhaps I am not glad you did not shoot them.

[ateno]

Well, it's a channel on your back, along the top of your shoulder blade, about 3 or so inches long. Pranit will hold part of the costume against the wound. He allows his bag to go in the box.

[BackworldTraveller]

Well, it's a channel on your back, along the top of your shoulder blade, about 3 or so inches long. Pranit will hold part of the costume against the wound. He allows his bag to go in the box.

First Aid Roll please. The Van does have a +0 first aid kit.

[ateno]

First Aid Roll please. The Van does have a +0 first aid kit.

I was afraid you would say that, I believe mongoose rules are -3 with no skill. JOT 1 = -2 on roll


And that sucked

Argh, still bleeding, can anyone help me?

[The Bindoner]

Who's side are you on, Navy!?

I need my Stunner back, for self-defence.

[BackworldTraveller]

Pranit's efforts are extremely counter-productive: 8-1=7 points of damage! Nālani's physical stats were previously 7C6 (including damage to date) reducing by 6 will give 7C0. Which leaves 1 to apply to DEX or STR.
Nālani lets out a serious scream as the pain of Pranit's attentions draws everyone's attentions to the fact that something has gone very wrong! Noor quickly notes that the "Sterilisation Liquid" is designed to sterilise surgical instruments not wounds! Nālani has now got a nasty chemical burn to add to that gun shot wound!

Hebden looks actually concerned

His companion, driving out of the car park as she is, turns briefly to see who screamed and then continues...For heaven's sake - keep the noise down while we escape!

The vehicle proceeds down the tunnel, heading casually North. They make it about 500m when a police car pulls across a road junction behind the van and starts searching vehicles. The door is shut, but too late!

---

Reven's efforts with the comms link finally bear fruit, and Assana can suddenly make headway against the security software of the town's network.

Someone has dumped a nasty bit of stuff in here she notes There is a marauder targeting the power connections in the town's electricity grid and a denial of service attack on the camera feeds. If facts the same type of denial of service we saw before.

She fiddles for a moment and come up with a street scene - with a darkened street.

OK: if you can find a camera with power, it works, it's just finding the cameras and connecting to them, one at a time, until that attack gets cleared. It looks like someone is working on it. If we are lucky, they won't notice our hack when they fix the big one.

And Assana starts trying to find a camera that can see the team...
Open to alternative plans from those aboard.

[Monsieur Rose]

Noor

She jumps at the scream and turns her attention inward. "What happened? That's for cleaning tools, not wounds!" She rummages through the kit, trying to find a way to neutralize the new wound.

Medic roll: [2d6]=11 + 4 =15!

"There. That should do it."

[BackworldTraveller]

The vehicle heads through the tunnel, heading north, before passing into a wide but unoccupied cavern that is the junction of a number of tracks - both back to Yaoley Crater (lower down) and east/west.

OK - We need to talk. To Hebden You were supposed to be alone, no friends, no tail.

And to the rest of the group

I guess I can guess who some of you are. Don't introduce yourselves as we'll be parting ways shortly and its best if names are not available for discussion.

She climbs from the driver's seat, switching the engine off as she does so.

So, Hebden. What's plan B

There is a hiatus as Hebden clears his head

Plan B. These guys (indicating the team) These guys now know that what I was looking for is valuable and are in the same sort of boat the we are. But they have a ship. We could throw in with them.

This isn't looked on well by the driver

OR we could let them try and work out why the plant is valuable for themselves

More silence

Or we could tell them and then hope that they are generous enough to let us in on the pay-out

yet more silence

OK - Other ideas?

[The Bindoner]

Nālani, still smarting from Pranit’s “help”, curtly interrupts in her Belter accent with:

Plant is proof Saffa’s project worked. Grown under light of other star.

Looking at Hebden:
You said not on any database, you play narrow odds to take it for insurance. And everything orbits Jusu, dead star of Starlight. Big gravity dead man, pulling it all in to the Queen, yah?

Looking around at the rest of the people in the vehicle: Now we all breathe the same Ox, yah? So we work together.

Muttering: Kono kaigun yarō ga watashi o fujiyū ni shiyou to suru no o yametara. *

To Hebden again: Well, I made my play. Perhaps you got a better hand? It's a vacuum adapted super food you find on a rock somewhere??

(*この海軍野郎が私を不自由にしようとするのをやめたら.)

Edited

[BackworldTraveller]

Nālani, still smarting from Pranit’s “help”, curtly interrupts in her Belter accent with:

Plant is proof Saffa’s project worked. Grown under light of other star.

Looking at Hebden:
You said not on any database, you play narrow odds to take it for insurance. And everything orbits Jusu, dead star of Starlight. Big gravity dead man, pulling it all in to the Queen, yah?

Hebden's "Girlfriend": Kinda. It's also circumstantial evidence of a link between certain political houses and the post-Dolphin coverup. And that's where this thing goes inter-planetary and where the investigation started by Sapphire led to the key players in that investigation being killed. Saffa hid evidence that would have got those involved killed, and this was evidence that his plan to hide that evidence would work.

But, he was too trusting and got double-crossed. With the war covering proper investigation his network was shut down in the anti-piracy push. And something else happened and parts were needed and somehow Saffa end up dead and there were no leads.

And that is how it stayed until the Council started looking to dig up more on the Dolphins. And the link between the Dolphins and Saffa was known to those on the inside and they were afraid that this was a chink in their insulation.

So they killed the investigation and tried to shore up the insulation. But the Queen had been put into play and that was another thread to tie off. So they seek Hebden. And through Hebden they would find me.

Hebden tries to shush her, several times, through the diatribe - but fails

Hebden: Oh come on! You're supposed to be good at secrets.

Hebden's "Girlfriend": That is Noor - Don't you think she deserves to know?

[Monsieur Rose]

Noor

Noor is silent throughout the revelation, sometimes looking confused, sometimes angry.

As the monologuing comes to an end, she sighs. "So I must have or know something that ties people to this. And I can't believe I'm saying it, but apparently, Saffa's drive isn't the biggest news involved. Bioethics, hybrids, and bio-engineered species. Probably more than just Dolphins now. But going back, what do I have, and what does the Queen have that could implicate people? That plant alone won't do it."

"The strange coils on the Queen? Something in the AI? Or is it just guilt by association?"

[BackworldTraveller]

If you didn't know anything, then your mum must have been keeping things closer to her chest than I realised.

You knew she was involved in the recognition of Dolphins as People. And you knew she was concerned that some of the larger houses were starting to have influence across planets that rivalled that of the Council and of Union Lines - but did so in the shadows. What you probably didn't know is that the whole Dolphin thing was the thin end of the wedge when it came to genetic manipulation. I used to work in recruitment for a small corporation (now defunct) that supplied staff to many bio-engineering firms. Anyway, when the Dolphin thing came to a head, a lot of companies vanished - and experiments were ditched or moved elsewhere. The plant was provided by a trader as part of the proof that they had an unreachable somewhere. Hebden was moonlighting as a waiter and the plant went missing during the clean-up after the party.

Anyway, just before the whole thing wound up, the company was dissolved. You probably don't recall the pirate raid on Prata? I was one of the survivors. And I know where the company's secondary database backups were stored.